Faragon Fighting for an Impact in 2012

Many of you who read my interview articles on SportsRantz Magazine or listen to the Rantin & Ravin Show every Tuesday night at 7pm know that I have been a fan of boxing and know I am a proud hometown guy out of the Capital Region. So, I was excited to interview a hometown product that allowed me to talk some boxing amidst all the NFL Playoff action and even more excited to be interviewing a local boxing sensation.

Mikey “Baby Faced Beast” Faragon has been making quite the name for himself in Albany, NY. So much so that the boxing world, and the lightweight division, are taking notice to what’s going on in the Capital Region.

Faragon has already made his case as an up and coming force in the lightweight division, posting a rather impressive 16-0 record. Although Faragon has had a successful career so far, he plans on doing more, particularly in 2012.

“I’m always trying to get better, never being content with just winning. After every win we watch the tape and see what we could have done better. 2012, I think will be a vert important year for me. Hopefully after a couple more fights a small title or belt might be in the works. I just want to get my name out there get on more televised events.”

Faragon has already made steps in getting his name out there by signing with JR Rickert’s company JR Sports Enterprises. Rickert represents many NFL players, NBA players and boxers as well. Faragon knows the impact that signing with JR Rickert can have on his young career.

“We need as many different ways to get our name out there to the public. JR seemed like he was the best way to do that. It’s also nice to work with someone that is local but has national connections. Its just a good fit.”

And being local has been an important factor in the popularity of Faragon who has been the topic of numerous articles in many local newspapers like the Times Union and the Troy Record to name a few. It’s also been important for Faragon to represent the Capital Region in the boxing world and he holds the local community close to his heart.

“I have really good fans in the area. they have came out and supported me like no other fighters in the area. I need to get my name out in the nation more. I hope my fans will follow where ever i fight.”

The growth of Faragon’s career has been an exciting topic in the Capital Region. It’s created a lot of buzz and created quite the stir when a Faragon fight vs. Ira Terry aired on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights. A bout that took place in August of 2011 in Santa Ynez, California and saw Faragon showcasing his impressive ring prowess and ability.

But with all the success that has met The Baby Faced Beast” thus far, Faragon knows there is much more work to do and has the intelligence to recognize his strengths as well as his weaknesses in the ring. He also clearly values putting in hard work in the gym.

“I would have to say the biggest challenge in my career has been myself. The better the fighters i fight, i think i preform better. So i think I am the only one to blame when i have a bad fight. My strengths are like i said before. If i need to i can box or fight inside. i think my weakness is that i counter fight too much sometimes. i wait too much. I feel that i can adapt to many different fighters. I train to fight different styles when i need to. Honestly, it took a while for me to get into boxing. When i started i didnt like it. But over time I was drawn to how different it was from other sports. I think the better you get the harder it gets and thats what intriuged me.”

As the calendars turned to 2012 so does the necessity for the fans not only in the Capital Region, but the national boxing audience to shine the spotlight on Mikey Faragon. Posting a 16-0 record is no easy task and a task we don’t see every single day in such a competitive sport. But Faragon promises to continue to make the Capital Region proud and judging from his successes so far, it’s hard not to buy into that promise.

You can catch Mikey “The Baby Faced Beast” Faragon’s next fight January 19th in Staten Island. Tickets are available at www.gcpboxing.com

Anthony DiMoro is the creator of Sports Rants and the CEO of Elite Rank Media. Anthony DiMoro is a Contributor for 'Forbes' where he talks Sports, SEO, Social Media and Internet Marketing. Anthony also hosts the 'Forbes SportsMoney Podcast' and is a Contributor to the Huffington Post where he covers sports